Wednesday, 17 August 2016

$21 Challenge Day 6 - Now the fun REALLY begins!

Day Six of the Challenge and whilst it is apparent that we will indeed survive it, it is also becoming increasingly obvious that by the end of it we will have just about nothing. We are fast running out of EVERYTHING and much to everyone else's annoyance, the realisation of this keeps making me laugh hysterically in my attempts to stretch everything as much as possible and waste nothing. As mentioned, last night's dinner was an enormous kick-ass roast, being the first meal from our giant chicken. Even though I don't eat chicken I was looking forward to it immensely, as was Gareth - until I broke the news to him. 'We won't be able to have Yorkshire Puddings though, we don't have any eggs left and we should probably save the last of the milk', I told him. 'Really? OK, guess we can go without Yorkshire Pudding', he said, a tad crestfallen.

Later on in the day however, as we walked to town he appeared to have changed his tune. Having already agreed that we really did need to get another bottle of milk, I suggested that perhaps we could spare $1.20 from the budget to purchase two eggs from the Corner Store. 'Look, I have my card on me and it's got a bit in it, just get some eggs!' he insisted. 'Noooo, that would be too much, I only need two!' I wailed. Needless to say, he won and we got a dozen eggs.

With the exception of eggs and milk we're low on pretty much everything now. Oil, sugar, you name it. I giggled to myself yesterday as I 'treated' myself to a bowl of leftover cabbage and carrots for lunch with a dollop of gravy. Waste not, want not! Tonight we'll use up the last of the potatoes too. I didn't realise how low we had got until Gareth was peeling them last night for dinner. 'Do you want me to do any more?' he asked. 'We've only got three left'. 'Hmm, maybe we should leave them then. Oh hang on, there's a nice big kumara in the fridge, use that instead!' I said, passing it to him. However seeing the three potatoes sitting in the bottom of the bag I swiftly changed my mind. 'Actually no, don't worry, I'm making chicken pie tomorrow and the recipe has a kumara in it. We'll have enough, just put it in there', I nodded towards the bag of potatoes. 'OK', he said and proceeded to peel a strip off the kumara. 'Nooooo, what are you doing! We need to save that for tomorrow!' I said, aghast. 'What the? But you said put it in there!' Gareth said in exasperation, gesturing towards the pan. 'No, I said put it in THERE', I laughed, nodding once again towards the bag. Poor bloke. Not only do I expect him to live on $21, I'm also expecting him to be psychic now!

Kumara duly shaved and saved, tonight's dinner as mentioned is Sophie Gray's Chicken Pie with Herby Cobbler Topping. I make this a lot when I don't have any pastry because a) you can get away with using a ridiculously small amount of chicken and b) it uses scone dough for the topping which is delicious and turns out much better than my home made pastry which is crap. Gareth got his beloved Yorkshire Puddings for dinner last night and whilst my back was turned this morning he whipped it from the fridge and ate the last leftover one for breakfast before I could do anything else with it. As if I would dare after last time, bless him! Ali, whilst he knows it is a $21 Challenge week seems to have breezed through it, happily fed and without a word of complaint. Minnie the dog thinks every day this week is her birthday, having finally polished off the last of the cats' home made chicken dinners and is now sitting on the deck in the sunshine with a huge bone from the freezer. As for me, I only have to wait ONE MORE DAY until I can go and splash out on a jar of Marmite. Everybody's happy!

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About Me

Jackie Norman had her first work published at the tender age of seven and has been writing for both national and international newspapers, magazines and websites ever since. Also formerly known as Penny Wise from Simple Savings, Jackie is the co-author of 'The $21 Challenge' and has written a weekly column for That's Life! magazine for nine years under the same name.
In 2016, after more than a decade of whittling down her materialistic lifestyle, Jackie sold her home and now lives on the road permanently, travelling the length and breadth of NZ in a campervan called Ken with husband Gareth and faithful dog Minnie. You can follow their travels on Facebook at Riches Have Wheels, on Instagram @parsleymonious or in print each month in Motorhomes, Caravans & Destinations magazine.